(1) Field of the Invention
A self-sufficiency food production method in the closed human living environment of long-term space missions. In particular by rearing of a variety of animals and plants, to realize efficient recycling of all the biological wastes to food sources with minimum weight and volume.
(2) Background Art
To date, all crewed space missions have been short-term and in low earth orbit. They have to rely on food replenishment from earth. Wastes must be discarded or stored until the crew return to earth. But for future long-term missions and permanent planetary bases such as those on the moon and Mars, it will not be possible to supply the space human from earth. The recovery and recycling of nutrients from wastes to support food production must be performed in the space. However, current technology cannot support this goal. For example, NASA's crop-plant-based bioregenerative systems satisfy only a fraction of the total waste recycling (mainly CO2 and gray water) and food requirements. These systems also require high levels of light energy for maximum photosynthesis, large growing areas, and long growing periods. So current NASA Advanced Life Support technology cannot provide the life support functions needed for long term human space exploration in a cost-effective manner. It is beneficial to recycle the solid wastes, particularly if bioregenerative systems are used to process waste materials for producing food. Some researchers in NASA and relevant institutions has developed the technologies to recycle nutrients from human dejection, but so far no one can know how to convert human dejection to nourishing food directly.
As to applicant's previous US patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,938,574), it is to rear fly maggots in space for digesting and recycling the feces from human and terraneous animals, and a part of the bio-wastes from animals and plants, it is an effective way to convert human dejections to nourishing food resource directly. But maggots can not recycle most of the bio-wastes from plants and animals, such as all stems, leafves, shells, roots, peelings of space plants; and feathers, squamae, bones, the other residues of space animals; as well as the feces from aquatic animals. Not even to mention to recycle great amount of the organic plastic in the space. These wastes has to be recycled to support food regeneration in the space by an effective way to be found.